October 21, 2003

Unambiguous Gestures

Reuters ran a story yesterday under the simple headline "Unbelievable." The subject of the story? A judge in France was suspended for discreetly lifting his robe and doing something that is inappropriate to do in a courtroom.

But I can't help but laugh at the phrase the reporter used to describe what he saw that tipped him off to what the judge was doing. He called them "unambiguous gestures."

It occurs to me that we should all strive to be unambiguous in our communications. But sometimes a little ambiguity might be a good thing.